How to make things easier

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Nikki J

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Mar 22, 2012
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16,376
Reason
PALS
Diagnosis
04/2014
Country
US
State
MA
City
Boston
This was inspired by recent suggestions made to a tired CALS

Please share things you do to make your household run more smoothly.

This is not about the specific physical challenges of ALS but about limited time and energy.

Some of us do things the way we always did without examining if it is still the best method.

Can you pay someone else to do something?
Can you automate it so you don't have to expend time and energy?
Can you organize so it is easy to find what you need to complete the task?
Does it really need to be done at all?

You can pay to have groceries delivered or gathered so you just pick them up. For someone to do yard work, snow removal, house cleaning or repairs. Yes CALS can physically do all the above and some PALS can do at least some of them. Is it a wise investment of your energy?

You can automate much of your finances with direct deposit and bill pay. You can automate delivery of some household goods on a regular basis from the big online store. I found a pet supply place that will automate food and litter that does not charge for shipping litter.

I decluttered my house last year so there is a place for everything. This makes putting things away easier and intermittent tasks are easier because I can find things and also know when something is low to replace ( you can order stamps online I discovered)

Some routines are important but maybe there are things we just do because we always have that don't bring us joy anymore.

What have you all found that helps?
 
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Library ( if you have time to read). Your system almost certainly has an ebook collection. You can borrow from home and they get returned automatically if you don't do it manually from your computer. Check your state system if you are in the US in MA any resident can borrow from the Boston library as well as their local system. I only go to the library building now to get a specific book unavailable on line.

Banking. I can deposit checks using my ipad. The only bank activity I can't do from home is getting cash
 
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Remote controlled plug sockets, these are cheap and easy to install. You can usually have up to four running off one control unit. I use it for lights, fans TV and music. It means I can adjust my environment without having my hubby or daughter keep getting up to do it for me.

Wendy
 
I hired a wonderful lady for $12 an hour to come for four hours a week and cook my favorite recipes. Today she made chili and my red sauce. I can freeze some of it for a later date. She also goes to the ATM and credit union for me. She wipes down all the door handles and washes my bedding, then makes my bed up. She is willing to come more when I need her and is willing to learn my medical equipment. She really doesn't need the money but has a kind heart.

A friend goes to the organic farmer's market and drops produce off for me.

I found a place locally that cooks meals, vacuum seals them, and delivers them to your door for $13 each. He does paleo and other special requests. I plan on using him beginning this week.

I automated all my bills so the only check I write is the condo association dues. Hopefully, THEY will get automated soon.

I had to let go of my perfectionism and OCD in keeping a perfect home. As long as it's clean, I'm good.

I gave away 75% of my clothes. I am also in the process of modifying my closet. Without all the clothes, I can store so much in there including my two fold up wheelchairs and my motorized wheelchair. I had two outlets put in there.

I gave away all my china and dinner plates and glasses. I have a cheap Corelle set and use paper plates/cups. The whole place is tiled so it just wasn't worth dropping glass. I did that the first week I was here and it took me an hour to clean it up.

I used to drink Fiji bottled water. I now get spring water delivered once a month.

I listen to audiobooks so I don't buy books. I also have a Kindle app for my iPad. I can control my TV from my iPad as well as play my songs from Amazon Prime.

I buy seafood from Vital Choice online. It comes frozen in dry ice. It's the best. I buy organic meat/poultry/pork from Organic Prairie online. It also comes frozen on dry ice.

I have a Lotsa Helping Hands web site. If I need a ride somewhere I post it and, hopefully, a friend signs up to take me. I've only used this for doctors' appointments.

Wendy, I'm thinking about getting some lights automated. I thought about it when I first moved in but my first priority was getting all the lights replaced with LED. They will never have to be replaced....in my lifetime. The reading light in my bedroom does have its own remote and that is very convenient.
 
Kim, Wendy, Nikki... remote house door locks are also now available. Dead bolts too.
 
Our security system has outside and inside cameras you can see from your device. You can change temperature, lock, and unlock doors. It is quite handy.

I use as many online services as possible. The big a has many household grocery items, some farm markets deliver...tampa bay organics will deliver produce weekly. Hello fresh delivers meals but there is a lot of chopping and prep.

It is very hard for a cals to do it all and it comes at a great cost. You lose time with your pals watching a movie, talking, getting out for a spin around the block. To me those were much more important than laundry, cleaning, etc.

You can ship packages via online also.speech to text apps let you take care of problems on the go.

For me, $100 to know my house would get cleaned thoroughly monthly would have been sufficient. But groceries were a problem. I was up at 5 am to grocery shop on the weekend and do laundry. Its draining. Anyone that came was given a job. My pals was horrified.

Battery replacemnt for fire alarms is a big help and changing out high lightbulbs.
 
Nikki pointed out organizing. our biggest challenge was finding things steve could access. We have a refrigerator with a door thatnseparares from themmain door so you dont have to enter the main compartment. I put allmof steves food there. Drinks, etc.
 
Great topic. I have already learned a lot!

1. I do a lot of shopping on Amazon.

2. When I use my wheelchair more I am less tired. It makes a big difference

3. I have set up charging stations for each wheelchair with a plastic mat under them. It really helps keep all the road grime corralled in an area that is easily cleaned.

4. My full size van does not have automatic doors. When by myself, loading the wheelchair into the van meant exiting the van, closing the doors, and then walking around the van to get in the driver's door. I tied rope to the inside handles of the doors. I can wrap the rope around my hands and wrists and close the doors from inside now. It is so much easier!

5. I was having trouble holding and controlling my kitchen knives. I went to a kitchen store and tried out dozens of knives and selected a set that fits my hands well. That was my only criteria. It has made it possible (and safe) to continue using kitchen knives longer than I would have imagined. I am slow, but can still slice and dice.

6. We have always liked very sharp knives and I have used various methods to keep them sharp. For over 30 years I used a Japanese waterstone to manually sharpen them. I can no longer generate enough pressure and control to sharpen knives that way. After much research, I found an electric sharpener made by Chef's Choice. I initially saw it on an episode of America's Test Kitchen. I have the Wusthoff version, and it does an amazing job of sharpening the knives. It requires virtually no strength to operate.

7. I am stubborn (my wife has other words), and insist on changing the oil on our cars until I can no longer physically do it. I must admit it is quite the challenge. But, I found that by using a very long extension on my socket, I can rest my forearm on the ground and get the oil plug unscrewed. Getting on the ground to do that is surprisingly easly;). Getting back up is another story:-o.

8. We have quite the collection of bottle and jar openers. They really help, but I have considered getting something better. If anyone has any ideas, please let me know!

Steve
 
Now this is a weird one so please don't laugh at me.
When I could still stand and transfer I was having trouble pulling my trousers up when going to the bathroom. I kept a pair of men's trousers braces in the bathroom, they might be called something different in the states. I would loop them round my neck and attach them to the front of my trousers while sitting ( they had nice easy clips on) then when I stood up they would pull my trousers up for me :p

Wendy
 
Thank you for starting this thread Niki, I wish I had realized earlier on how significant these time saving tips are in preserving my energy. Equally important has been just choosing to NOT do projects that I could never have ignored in the past. We bought our house and started renovations shortly before Job's precipitous decline, we had moved in with the essentials. Everything came to a halt. It is now four years later, we are living with a gutted master bath, no railings on the second floor, a kitchen still not finished, light fixtures missing, etc, one bureau with the rest in boxes in the bedrooms, with the rest our belongings in 4 storage units.i had always been a perfectionist before this. I have come a long way emotionally in being able to not stress about it! It is what it is. The last big energy sucker I haven't found a solution for is getting services and DME without it turning into a 3 month project in the insane maze of Medicare!!

The things I've done that have really helped( many have already been mentioned but want to reiterate how helpful they are) :

- Peapod delivery- once a month do a huge order for all non perishables and household products( wanted to kiss the delivery man the first time they came)
- hired a women to come 2X a month, does the grocery shopping ,makes 2 weeks worth of nutritious dinners for me, freezes them - takes her 4-5 hours total per( I had lost a lot of weight from not eating well)
- automated bill paying and have a friend that comes once a month to pay the remaining bills( takes about one hour)
- house cleaning 2x month
- dog food delivery
- Amazon for everything I can think of

I have struggled with having to ask for help from friends and family( I have always been a very independent personality) but this disease and it's required caretaking has brought me to my knees . My approach to asking for help has been to request small, defined, limited time required tasks. I think some people want to help but don't want to feel overwhelmed by the enormity of the needs. Here are some of things I have asked for:

- my friend who is doing 1 hour a month bill paying
- my PALS 3 adult children rotate helping me get him to bed every Sunday night
- plus organizing and putting to the curb our weeks worth of trash and recycle
- plus cleaning and sanitizing the room humidifier
- changing high and outdoor light bulbs
- my brother plows and shovels
- a few friends do SOS calls to get a needed item at the store( I can't leave house as my PALS is on a vent)
- I keep a mental list of 5 minute tasks I can ask people to do when they visit

We are fortunate to have family near by and I know many do not. Maybe reaching out to churches or schools that have kids do community service could be a possibility? I have found any task, no matter how small it may be, done by volunteers adds up in preserving energy.
 
Kim, Wendy, Nikki... remote house door locks are also now available. Dead bolts too.


Al, I was looking into an automatic door opener for the condo. That way I can get out alone in my chair in the future. I will check into the remote house door locks/dead bolts, too. Thanks.
 
I love this tread so many good suggestions. Thanks Nikki :)
 
Kim, I have Vivint and my friend has ADT. Both offer the ability to unlock doors remotely. They also offer doorbell cameras and exterior/interior cameras so u can see who is at the door before you unlock it
 
I normally enter and exit the house via the garage door. We have a keypad that allows the garage door to be opened from outside, but is impractical for me to use.

I found a pocket garage door remote on Amazon that works with my garage door opener. I keep it in my jacket pocket and can get in and out of my locked house with the press of a button. It is great!

Steve
 
Thanks for sharing everyone!

Kim I have to pay my HOA fees by check too. I pay the whole year at once which is a lot of money for one time but then I don't have to think about it for another year.

Some kind of remote door arrangement would be good thanks , Al and Steph.



Last summer I got an address label app that allowed me to transfer snail mail addresses from my contact list. When it came time for Christmas cards I was able to print labels with just a couple of clicks. It took me some time to set things up but I did a few people a day for several weeks in the summer and nowI can just update any new addresses and be good to go for holidays. This year counting setup I broke even in time. Next season I expect this to start to pay off in time / energy saved.
 
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